Libsyn Directory

Employee Retention in Manufacturing for Plant Leaders: Reducing Risk Through Transparent Accountability with Christopher Santomassimo #148

Release Date: 07/23/2025

Workforce Development and Leadership Development: The Showing Up Gap That Is Undermining Your Manufacturing Productivity #172

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! Most manufacturing leaders believe that if they were clear, the message landed. But there is a gap that almost no one sees — the distance between how you think you show up and how your team actually experiences you. In this episode of Manufacturing Greatness, Trevor...

Lean Manufacturing Leadership for Plant Managers: Why Kaizen Fails Without Curiosity with Dr. Debra Clary #171

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! What if the biggest obstacle to your lean manufacturing results isn't the process at all? It might be the person leading it. In this episode of Manufacturing Greatness, learn more with Debra Clary, author of The Curiosity Curve, about one of the most overlooked blind...

Manufacturing Leadership Development: The 3 Conversations That Fix Accountability, Alignment, and Results #170

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! If you’ve ever thought “I already explained this” but still are not getting the results you expect, the problem may not be effort, it may be alignment. In this episode, Trevor Blondeel explores how gaps in communication skills and unclear expectations impact...

Manufacturing Leadership Development: Why Connection Drives Productivity and Retention with Morag Barrett #169

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! In today’s manufacturing environment, the biggest barrier to productivity, talent retention, and employee satisfaction isn’t equipment or process, it’s connection. Organizations may invest in lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and process optimization, yet engagement,...

Why Productivity Problems Start at the Top: Manufacturing Leadership and Employee Retention: #168

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. In this episode of Manufacturing Greatness, we break down why manufacturing leaders plant owners, operations managers, and production managers continue to struggle with employee retention, manufacturing productivity, workforce engagement, and frontline performance on the shop floor. Even after...

Leadership Resilience in Manufacturing: Leading Under Pressure with Dr. Marie-Helene Pelletier #167

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let's jump in! In today’s demanding manufacturing environment, frontline supervisors and plant leaders are expected to deliver higher production efficiency, stronger quality management, and better manufacturing productivity often while navigating workforce pressures and constant operational...

Why People Leave Manufacturing Jobs — A New North American Research Study #166

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. If you have questions regarding workforce development in manufacturing operations in North America, email me at and we will propose it in the project scope of research. Why are manufacturing organizations struggling to recruit and retain great people? Let’s find out together! Manufacturing...

Resilience for Frontline Supervisors: Building High Agency to Navigate Adversity and Improve Team Performance with Vickie Lanthier #165

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In this episode, Vickie Lanthier author of High Agency Human: Navigate Adversity and Live Big and former military leader with four deployments shares practical strategies for building personal agency in high-pressure environments like manufacturing. Drawing...

Defining Manufacturing Greatness: Help Me Choose the Subtitle #164

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In manufacturing, most leaders don’t struggle because they lack technical knowledge. They struggle because they’re not connecting with their teams. When skill gaps widen, labor shortages grow, and hiring challenges persist, it’s rarely an operations problem. It’s...

Manufacturing Leadership Development for Plant Managers: Driving Continuous Improvement Through Curiosity on the Shop Floor with Bruce Mayhew #163

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit and to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter. Now, let’s jump in! In this episode, Bruce Mayhew, corporate trainer, keynote speaker, executive coach, and author, shares insights on manufacturing leadership, communication skills, and trust building for Operations Managers, Production Managers, Manufacturing Managers, and Shift Supervisors. You’ll...

More Episodes

Welcome to Manufacturing Greatness with Trevor Blondeel, where we work with organizations to manufacture greatness by leveraging resources you already have to achieve greater retention, productivity, and profits. To learn more, visit www.manufacturinggreatness.com and click here to subscribe to Trevor’s monthly newsletter.

Now, let’s jump in!

Are you tapping into your team’s full potential?

As manufacturing continues to evolve, many leaders are searching for better ways to improve employee engagement, drive productivity, and build a culture where people feel motivated to perform.

In this episode, Christopher Santomassimo, lawyer and founding partner of Outside General Counsel Solutions, shares insights on manufacturing leadership, accountability, and workforce engagement for Operations Managers, Production Managers, Manufacturing Managers, and Shift Supervisors.

Drawing on more than 30 years of legal experience, Chris explains how transparent accountability strengthens trust building, supports retention, and helps leaders address personnel challenges. You will learn practical strategies for improving communication skills, fostering ownership, and unlocking the potential of your current workforce even as labor shortages and skills gaps continue to impact manufacturing.

2:30 – When companies hold people accountable in a transparent and uplifting way, they tend to see higher engagement and productivity
2:58 – Accountability is about building trust and team spirit through setting clear goals and expectations
7:10 – By listening to employees and celebrating their contributions, you can boost morale and retention
11:52 – Transparency fosters ownership and reduces negative incidents, like HR issues
14:47 – When employees feel like they’re part of a team, it drives productivity and lessens workplace conflicts
16:37 – Accountability is about coaching and support, not penalization
19:40 – For long-term improvement, you need consistent practices at all levels of your organization

Connect with Christopher Santomassimo
Listen to his Podcast
Connect on LinkedIn
Learn More About OGC Solutions

TOPICS